To take care of your skin before summer, we usually provide it with moisturizing and nourishing care. It’s good, but not enough. Choosing your diet carefully is essential to have beautiful skin because it must be hydrated and nourished from the inside.
It is in food that the skin draws nutrients it needs to stay healthy and function properly. The skin has very varied needs and it is food that will meet them.
The skin appreciates vitamins, minerals, proteins, lipids… solution is so simple : to take care of your skin, you will adopt a healthy, fresh and varied diet.
Drink more to have beautiful skin
Water of course, and herbal teas. Well hydrated skin is, above all, skin that receives enough water in its deep layers. Gold, if you read the label carefully appearing on your usual care, you will read information in very small print: moisturizes only the upper layers of the epidermis“. The water you drink addresses the deeper layers of the epidermis, but also the dermis.
So to have beautiful skin, here are some hydration rules:
- A liter and a half a day? It’s an average, not a standard. The main thing is to drink regularly, and especially before you feel thirsty because this is a sign of dehydration. Take the lead.
- A glass every houror every hour and a half, is enough to hydrate you deeply.
- Increase the amount of water you drink when you exercise, and in the summer when it’s very hot.
- Prefer low mineral water. Water is worth more for what it “takes away” than for what it “brings”. It helps the body to eliminate toxins, which is essential for the skin and for the whole body.
Good food colors for the skin
Fresh fruits and vegetables provide your skin with antioxidants, others with valuable vitamins or various minerals… If you can, choose organic fruits and vegetables or produced in a reasoned way in order to avoid the many food pollutants (industrial or agricultural) that do your skin no good.
Here are some good plant-based diet tips for beautiful skin:
- The fruits and vegetables orange in color. Carrots, apricots, melon, mango… It is beta-carotene, a strong antioxidant, which gives them their particular colour. They are available in all seasons: carrots in winter, melons in summer, apricots in spring…
- The citrus and kiwi fruit. They are a major source of vitamin C. This is important for fortifying your anti-free radical screens, but also for stimulating the regeneration of your skin cells.
- The oleaginous dried fruits. Their main interest lies in their high vitamin E content. Walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds… are major friends of your skin. They also provide very useful minerals.
- The leafy green vegetables are the champions of minerals. They provide selenium (anti-oxidant), copper (anti-inflammatory), zinc (immunostimulant), calcium (for skin softness)…
- The vegetables and red or purple fruits. They are very rich in lycopene (the first) or in anthocyanins (the second), two families of effective antioxidants. So tomato or watermelon, blueberry or blackcurrant, red onions or raspberries, the choice is yours.
What fats to have beautiful skin?
Fats have long been despised. Today, nutritionists are more measured. The Fatty acids (main constituents of fat) are essential to the life of our cells, and more particularly to those that form our skin. No supple skin without a diet rich enough in fat. To have beautiful skin, follow these good tips:
- The vegetal oils. Choose them of good quality, first cold pressing and preferably organic. For cooking, prefer stable oils that resist heat: olive, rapeseed. For seasoning, you have a wide choice: safflower, sesame, argan, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios… But don’t heat them. Add them raw, at the end of cooking.
- the coconut butter. It comes in a solid form, like butter. But it is an excellent quality oil, which you can cook or use raw for its very marked flavor. Excellent for exotic or sweet/savory dishes.
Meat or fish?
In fact, nothing is to be ruled out when it comes to protein foods. Meat, eggs, poultry or fish… They contain proteins made up of small fundamental building blocks, amino acids. And some of these amino acids are involved in the health of your skin:
- Lysine is essential for the production of collagen which ensures skin elasticity and suppleness.
- Phenylalanine also participates in the production and quality of collagen.
- Arginine strengthens the connective tissues which support the deep structure of the skin. It accelerates healing in case of sore.
- Carnitine contributes to the protection against free radicals.
- Cysteine improves the production of collagen and keratin.
To cite just a few examples. So put protein foods on your menu once a day. And if you don’t like meat or fish, opt for vegetable proteins in combining cereals and legumes (rice and lentils, couscous and chickpeas…).
5 tips for beautiful skin this summer
Finally, here are some tips for enjoying the sun without suffering the unfortunate consequences:
- Never expose yourself to the hottest hours of the day, especially in summer. If you wish to sunbathe, do so before 11 a.m. and after 3 p.m.
- Never forget to spread on your body and your face a cream, a milk or a protective oil. Don’t skimp on the SPF, especially at the start of the season. Choose it according to your skin.
- Repeat the application after each bath (at sea or in the pool).
- Be especially careful with children. In the event of exposure, coat them with special children’s total sunscreen cream, and don’t forget to make them wear a T-shirt, glasses and a hat.
- If you have fragile skin, apply sunblock to your facein any season (as soon as the sun shines its rays).
